Contact Information

Buying & Purchasing Basics

The Purchasing Department of the University of Southern Mississippi is the purchasing agency of the university. Greater efficiency, both in terms of economy to the university and service to the departments, is achieved through specialization of purchasing. The purpose of the Purchasing Department, therefore, is to procure quality supplies and equipment as economically and conveniently as possible.

In the interest of serving the university, its alumni, and the community, the Purchasing Department, in conducting its business and discharging its responsibilities, is guided by three primary objectives:

Purchases are to be made in consideration of the objectives and policies of the university, as well as of the particular requirements and objectives of the departments.

Maximum, ultimate value for each dollar of expenditure must be obtained.

Qualified, competitive bidders must be given equal consideration and opportunity to quote on the university's requirements.

In compliance with the Mississippi Transparency and Accountability Act, all payments made by USM will be posted on a public website beginning July 1, 2012. The information posted will include the date of payment, vendor name, vendor's city and state, and the payment amount. The amount of any payment made by the University is public information. All University employees should be aware that no contract with vendors or contractors can include language that makes the amount of payment confidential. If the party with whom we are contracting insists on such a provision, you should contact the Procurement Office for assistance.

Rules for Vendor Searches in PeopleSoft

The following is a list of standard rules to keep in mind when searching for a vendor in the PeopleSoft Vendor Information system:

The short vendor name is made up of only ten characters. Certain words have been abbreviated in the short name because the first name of some vendors is longer than ten characters and causes a long list of vendors to be pulled. These words are as follows:

Association - ASSN

International - INTL

Mississippi - MS

National - NATL

University - UNIV

When using the short name feature to search for a vendor that uses any of these words as the first name, always use the abbreviation and the first few letters of the second word in the vendor name. For example, you would search for Mississippi State Tax Commission in the short name as follows: MSSTATE

When searching by using the short name feature use as few characters as possible. If a large list of vendors is pulled, use more characters to narrow the search.

If a vendor name starts with "The", this word is not used in the short name. Always search using the second word. For example, The Advertiser News would be ADVER (This is only an example. You may use less or more characters to search as long as you do not exceed ten.)